Friday 20 January 2012

On The Road: Part 1, Chapter 5 - is there something in your pocket or are you just happy to head West?



Hello again, KLiters!


LettieLou and I are so stoked that Kristen and Kerouac fans alike are joining in with our read/groove/bake along :)

Please do let us know your comments on the book as well as any songs that you think would be just perfect for the soundtrack or any of our recipes that you've tried...

Down the road a bit (ha) we're hoping to invite guest commenters to take part in our breakdown, where you'll get to join in on the behind-the-scenes chat (and see what random tangent hilarity gets edited out of posts for our own good - trust).  Eventually, we'd love to turn this into regular group chat-room discussions - like our own online Beatnik Bootcamp!

Ya dig, Daddy-o?

- Lorabell


Chapter Summary:


After finally seeming to settle into his journey, Sal reverts to being immaturely impatient with his experience, once again yearning for Denver and his friends Dean and Carlo.  Failed attempts at hitting on nameless, faceless girls and empty extravagances with booze leave him sick and tired and dreaming of greener grass...




Breaking it down - an excerpt:


Lorabell: dude's got a pair of ill-advised balls

LettieLou: he doesn't give a shit

Lorabell: why should he? he's off to denver
lol

LettieLou: DAMN STRAIGHT
to denver!!!

Lorabell: and driving in a truck full of dudes for however long would likely make you need a woman
hence why he moves straight onto that blonde bit

LettieLou: great segway

Lorabell: and everything in him is "pointing" at her - ha!
*bows* thanks

LettieLou: BUT

Lorabell: ?

LettieLou: even that seems disappointing to him
not enough, ya know?

Lorabell: true
she's kinda meh
and her friend isn't attractive

LettieLou: if dean isn't involved, it's not good enough

Lorabell: he's already checked out

LettieLou: *snaps*
bingo

Lorabell: what is WITH his mancrush on Dean?


As always, read along with us HERE





LettieLou: So! Finally, Chapter 5! Short but super sweet. He’s ready to move on, right?

Lorabell: Again he does that thing where if he doesn't like how something's going he just cuts short
like, MOVING ON!
He's so over not being in Denver already after this point

LettieLou: well, maybe because he spent all his money!
and because dean and carlo are in freaking denver

Lorabell: just like chapter 2!
save your money dude
stop blowing it on booze and chicks

LettieLou: he finally starts to relish his trip... slow down a bit...
when it doesn't go his way, he quits

Lorabell: yup
still kinda immature
wants things his way now

LettieLou: absolutely...

Lorabell: thinks he's appreciating it but when it's not what he wants, on to Denver

LettieLou: exactly

Lorabell: and he even says a couple of times (don't ask me to quote) i bet the girls will be beautiful in denver

LettieLou: yes he does...

Lorabell: and they'll look at him like a messiah or some shiz
lol

LettieLou: like "everything's better in denver" LOL!

Lorabell: always

LettieLou: so funny!

Lorabell: man, i hope it lives up to his expectation!
he's put enough resting on it.

LettieLou: I was just getting ready to say that is my favorite part of the chapter

Lorabell: what is?

LettieLou: where he envisions they'll think he's so cool...
ah hem...

Lorabell: lol, hilar
he's just imagining this movie style entrance
crowds parting
sunlight beaming through
(angels singing?)

LettieLou: "I pictured myself in a Denver bar that night, with all the gang, and in their eyes I would be strange 
and ragged and like the Prophet who has walked across the land to bring the dark Word, and the only word I had was "WOW!"
LOL!
(what you said before that) PERFECT
i can see sam riley playing that to perfection!

Lorabell: it's too comical
like, does he seriously think that?
lol

LettieLou: i think kerouac was a pretty serious writer BUT he also had a comical side... 
like THE SHOES!
he had to know that would be funny to the reader

Lorabell: true
i just hope that he's trying to be amusing here
because otherwise - EYE ROLL

LettieLou: as many times as I've read this... I'm honestly not sure...

Lorabell: lol, me either
i think part of him seriously wants that admiration
naturally, though - he's a dude

LettieLou: really love when he hits on the waitress
pretty bold
a poem on a receipt
LOL!

Lorabell: unf, me too
i want to hear how she said that line to him

LettieLou: sly and swag

Lorabell: i love that he says that so you kinda hear it in your head
and he doesn't give up but asks if she can shake her bf

LettieLou: YES!!!!
BOLD

Lorabell: dude's got a pair of ill-advised balls

LettieLou: he doesn't give a shit

Lorabell: why should he? he's off to denver
lol

LettieLou: DAMN STRAIGHT
to denver!!!

Lorabell: and driving in a truck full of dudes for however long would likely make you need a woman
hence why he moves straight onto that blonde bit

LettieLou: great segway

Lorabell: and everything in him is "pointing" at her - ha!
*bows* thanks

LettieLou: BUT

Lorabell: ?

LettieLou: even that seems disappointing to him
not enough, ya know?

Lorabell: true
she's kinda meh
and her friend isn't attractive

LettieLou: if dean isn't involved, it's not good enough

Lorabell: he's already checked out

LettieLou: *snaps*
bingo

Lorabell: what is WITH his mancrush on Dean?
and what does he do?

LettieLou: he idolizes him

Lorabell: he draws a line under it and goes to sleep!

LettieLou: he wants to be just like him

Lorabell: in a fricking crowded bus shelter
when he's in the middle of where with a million quiet fields
it's "just like being back in Jersey"
then go sleep in the outdoors!

LettieLou: note though, that, he goes to sleep facing the mountains

Lorabell: towards Denver???
(speculative)
(but likely)

LettieLou: "one eye cocked toward the snowy Rockies"
so in his mind, yes

Lorabell: yup
and then he feels SO awful the next morning but as they get closer he's perky as you like

LettieLou: i love at the end of the chapter how he talks about his wicked grin

Lorabell: lol, yup
it's so vivid

LettieLou: i can't help but picture sam with that sly grin on his face

Lorabell: and what he's going to get up to with the boys

LettieLou: sooooo impatient...
he's there now...
so now what?
heehee

Lorabell: we'll find out!

LettieLou: you'll find out... heehee wicked grin

Lorabell: lol, oh noes what goes down?!
don't tell me!
lol

LettieLou: NO WAY
I was gonna say this is a perfect selection for recipes
so many good possibilities

Lorabell: in Denver?
oooooh

LettieLou: he really focuses on food
the whole book

Lorabell: he's very into sensory descriptions
i dig (LL note: LB’s perfect BEAT SPEAK here!)

LettieLou: me too!
smells, specific foods, scenery

Lorabell: yup

LettieLou: it all allows us to be there
this was one of the first books i read and was REALLY into that did that for me.

Lorabell: love it 

LettieLou: kerouac is great at it...

Lorabell: it doesn't just paint a two dimensional picture
but a multi dimentional scape

LettieLou: exactly
he hits all of our senses at once… BAM!

Lorabell: i wanna go to beatnik boot camp!

LettieLou: MEE TOOOOOO

Lorabell: lol

LettieLou: i wanted to go with stew
and garrett... yummo
*picturing garrett in his swarthy beat gear*

Lorabell: gah, don't
and all those cool vintage cars
unf, it's an aspiring art dept gal's dream

LettieLou: that's so cool... i cannot WAIT to see the book come to life... costumes, sets... gah!

***

2 comments:

  1. Hiya! I just happened to stop by bloggy land tonight and realized that Ch. 5 breakdown was posted a week ago! Gah...how did I miss it?!? Real life has not been kind these past few weeks. :(

    Let's get back on the road...

    This super short chappy felt a bit like an emotional roller coaster for Sal. He realizes that he's been a little stupid and reckless (*New Moon quoteage*) with not only his money but his time. And even though he's made some new acquaintances along the way, they in no way compare(in his mind)to his gang in Denver. Poor guy has even struck out with the ladies. So when he finally curls up on the bus station bench I have to say I had a slight twinge of pity on the dude. I loved the passage describing the "feeling of sadness that only bus stations have." That one line paints such a vivid picture. I can see overflowing trash bins and smell the stale cigarette smoke that lingers thick in the air. But after the melancholy reflection of his journey so far, the morning brings new perspective. Seeing the Rockies = seeing his goal. The whole dynamic in those last few paragraphs shifts. His mood is lifted, bouyant. And finally he is THERE...Denver baby!

    See you guys next time...when he finds his boys. It's gonna go down! Right on! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. @TwiNurse02 Super sparkle points for New Moon quoatage ;) I also love your take on the chapter - the pity for his melancholy and the bus station descriptions especially - by comparison, Denver's going to be golden!

    ReplyDelete